We All Need Feedback

Are you a feedback seeker or feedback avoider? Some folks are happy to give brutally honest feedback. Others shy away from giving feedback out of fear that it will be rejected.

Some people actively seek feedback from friends or colleagues. Some accept praise but reject other forms of feedback.

We live in a feedback-saturated culture in which we are constantly being asked to provide feedback on our experiences as consumers of products and users of services. Reality TV invites the viewer to provide feedback on the skill or performance of participants via voting systems. Millions of viewers tune in weekly to hear judges provide feedback to amateur chefs or novice dancers. Organisations use feedback data to publicise the high performance of their products or the success of their services. At Calvin we seek feedback from parents, students and teachers via our annual surveys. 

“Receiving honest and helpful feedback can positively impact our learning, development and focus.”

The aim of feedback is to improve a performance, product or behaviour. As such, we are often happy to give feedback about our own experience for improvement to occur. Last year I sought feedback from my colleagues in order to gain greater insight into my leadership strengths and weaknesses, and I would like to think that this has led to improvement in my leadership ability. 

Many of the apostle Paul’s letters to the early church were instructions based on the feedback he had received regarding the health and welfare of believers. There were times that the early church needed rebuke and guidance to keep them Christ focused. While it can leave us feeling a bit vulnerable and open to criticism, receiving honest and helpful feedback can positively impact our learning, development and focus. 

Good quality feedback has been shown by John Hattie and other educational researchers to have a strong positive impact on student achievement. It can come in many different forms—verbal discussion, praise, peer feedback, assessment comments, grades—but the aim should always remain the same: to help students in their learning. 

This week we launched SEQTA Engage to parents of students in Years 7 to 12. Through this program, we aim to provide more timely feedback to students via an online platform that gives greater visibility of course material and assignments to both parents and students. 

Our hope is that this feedback will improve student learning and enhance the experience of being a student at Calvin. I expect some ‘teething problems’ as we begin this journey, but I look forward to stronger partnerships with families as we work together in the Christian education of children. If you have not yet received a welcome email inviting you to set up a SEQTA Engage account, please contact us.

Bonny Moroni – Head of Secondary

Getting It Right

Week one was busy, exciting and, as I am sure you would all agree, tiring! One thing that stood out for me was seeing the inclusiveness of our student body.

My visits to the Year 7 students who were at the Huonville Pool as part of their camp program and the Year 11/12 camp at Orford were encouraging for this reason. Both groups were warm and welcoming. Walking around the school in these early days has been encouraging as our students have appeared to enjoy reconnecting with each other and staff have reported enthusiasm about learning (well, mostly!). Some of our Year 12 students created ‘welcome packs’ for all of their Year 11 peers, and it was heartwarming to see the Year 11 students’ responses for being embraced into the senior years in this way. Now to maintain this culture!

Staff are working on a program known as Getting It Right. Sometimes we have expectations that young people should know our standards for behaviour, academic protocols, social interactions and so forth but, as we all know, good habits need to be demonstrated and learned. Our school values are love, compassion, courage, generosity and diligence. These were the starting point for the program, and staff are following the initiative of Mrs Sinclair and Dr Lindsay to take each of our students on a journey towards ‘being their best’ and building a culture where these values are clearly evident. I would like to thank staff who have prepared the program and are presenting it to our students.

It is a wonderful privilege to work in a Christian school where we share a faith that informs every part of our life, and especially our values. We, as staff, hope to portray the Father’s heart, be Christ centred and Spirit led as we support you in the nurturing of those entrusted to our care. The journey is not always easy but our advantage is knowing that God helps us in all circumstances (Philippians 4:13). One of the Scriptures shared with our students in ‘Getting It Right’ is Colossians 3:17, ‘Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’ We hope our students will understand God’s inclusiveness of us and always extend the same love and care to each other.

Ineke Laning – Acting Principal

Welcome to 2020!

Welcome back to a new school year at Calvin Christian School. I am appreciative of the trust given me to be in the Acting Principal role until we find a new Principal.

I look forward to partnering with you and your family in education and all that this involves as we journey through 2020.

It is on my heart to highlight the importance of being a worshipful community. As I shared with staff on our first day back last week, this is not just corporate worship where we praise our wonderful God through song and prayer, but it is inviting the presence of God through the Holy Spirit into every aspect of our lives (obviously I spoke of the school context). But for all of us, this means into our homes, as we step into our cars, at work, as we deal with difficult situations, as we meet with friends… We need to acknowledge Him and His power to change the atmosphere, our anxious thoughts, our negative emotions, our problems or to increase our joy and peace.

We need to put Him first all the time and nothing should take that place, not our busy-ness, not our fears and anxieties, not our finances, our friends, not even our family (so hard!). Matthew 6:33 reminds us to ‘seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.’ He is always available and ready for us to find Him and to worship Him in those anxiety-riddled situations. Do we run to worship, searching for Him, or lean into worry and doubt?

Darlene Zschech wrote in her book, Extravagant Worship, ‘The pure song of the heart that is yearning for more of God, and less of himself, is the music that holds the key to so many victories…and delights the heart of God.’ What might a problem look like if we were looking at it whilst holding the Father’s hand?

This might all seem very basic to those of us who love our God, but when we are so easily caught up in what we do, rather than who God is and what He might desire, it is no longer basic. And to those of us who are still searching for truth, ask God to reveal His love.

May God bless you.

Ineke Laning – Acting Principal